


Oh My Darling, What If You Fly?

by BecomeMyObsession



Series: constantly, consistently, continuously, you [2]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Deckerstar - Freeform, Established Relationship, F/M, Immortality, Post-Season/Series 05, nothing graphic, ring fic, trigger warning: teeny bit of violence against a teenager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26800492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecomeMyObsession/pseuds/BecomeMyObsession
Summary: “Lucifer, if I change my mind...” Her voice was a whisper, a secret breath that was stolen away by the soothing blanket of the low light of her living room.She couldn’t see it, but he cracked open one eye and looked down at her head tucked into his chest, letting himself feel a tiny little fractional glimmer of hope. “The offers always there, Detective.”--Second part in a three part series.Or my take on that ring and its wondrous and terrifying possibilities.Can be read as a stand-alone fic.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Series: constantly, consistently, continuously, you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908361
Comments: 25
Kudos: 176





	Oh My Darling, What If You Fly?

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: Trixie is older here, in her teens, but there is a tiny bit of violence towards her. It isn't graphic, but I thought it may deserve a warning. 
> 
> Sorry this took so long, life went crazy _annnnnnd_ I started seeing someone :O. Anyhow, not beta'd as usual but proof read of course and in time I will re-read and correct any errors I see. 
> 
> Enjoy! Third part will hopefully be up sooner! Thank you for you patience my lovelies.

At first she said no, a steadfast no; in fact it was such a strong resolute _no_ that it snapped out her lips so fast and unchecked that she shocked even herself as well as her partner. Said partner had jolted back so quickly with his palms immediately up and placating as he stared at her. Chloe blinked at herself, put herself in check and schooled her features as she tried to be understanding. “I’m sorry.” She’d smiled, a tiny fragile little thing that didn’t feel in part convincing.

She’d left pretty quickly after that; their night ruined at the abrupt change in mood.

Sometimes she forgot that behind all the power, despite presenting himself as apathetic and collected or wildly inappropriate and funny in the public sphere, inside Lucifer was often a vulnerable and lost little kid who was still searching for a place to belong.

Now he’d found it, he was terrified of losing it.

She really should have been more understanding. This celestial stuff sometimes still managed to surprise her, but she really should have learned by now how to react accordingly.

Guilt ate at her as she drove home, fingers tapping on the steering wheel and her teeth gnawing at her lip as she frowned at the thoughts in her head. It was just unexpected, although the more she thought about it the more she realized it really shouldn’t have been. They’d been together nearly two years now, maybe just over two years? It was still something she was adapting to, that _they_ were adapting to; with challenges and new scenarios where they had to accommodate and compromise around each other more often than not. There was still so much to figure out. Yet… the more her mind went down that proverbial – _not so proverbial_ – rabbit hole he’d just obliviously thrown them into, the more she was beginning to understand they’d just been ignoring it this whole time.

The big, no humongous, elephant in the room that they’d been dancing around. The both of them neglecting to even chance a look in its direction so it had gone unchecked, and like a cancerous tumor it had obviously grown in size so much that Lucifer had decided it couldn’t possibly be overlooked anymore…

…and now that she was thinking about it, the little niggly thought wouldn’t leave her alone; much like it hadn’t for him probably. It became a lurking shadow to her waking mind and a persistent harasser of her nightly dreams. It just wouldn’t leave her be.

Ergo, to give her mind a break and herself peace, she decided to take a leaf from her own book and steeled herself, telling her silly pride to grow a pair and to be an adult. She had spent years raising Trixie on the importance of talking, even longer trying to knock the solid piece of advice into Lucifer’s head. So, while it may have taken her a few days of avoiding the issue, she had eventually found herself watching him across the precinct contemplating how to approach the topic. He was hovering uncertainly and had squared up an untidy stack of papers on an intern’s desk, looking so adorably out of place as he was trying to give her space.

She shook her head, eyes crinkling fondly at the edges, and before she could overthink it too much she soldiered up to him, purposely barging her way into his personal space. She moved so fast that he blinked and looked down at her in confusion as she tilted her head up at him resolutely, hoping her unusual closeness at work would hammer home the importance of what she had to say. “We need to talk.”

“Uh,” he pulled a face, the one where his brows furrowed and he sucked his top teeth with his tongue, “of course, is everything alright Detective?”

She matched his frown when she heard the apprehension in his voice, and then realized how her sentence may sound so she back peddled a bit as she took his lower arms in hers, stepping back to give herself room to slide her hands down his arms and interlink their fingers. “I’m not mad at you,” she smiled reassuringly, “I just think we need to talk about-” she swallowed, playing with his fingers so his attention was drawn downwards to where she wanted it. Once it was there, she lifted the hand she wanted between them, her thumb tracing the top of the black onyx on his ring. She looked up and met his eyes, looking at the concern that shone there for her and it gave her the courage she needed to finish her sentence, “this.”

“It’s not a problem Detective, you said no, I understand.” He smiled weakly at her, trying to take a step back. “No means no.”

She held on tightly and despite knowing he could easily wrench himself free of her feeble grip if he wanted, he stayed. He had no idea how much her heart swelled at such a simple gesture. She shook her head a little to get her hair away from her face. No, I-” she steeled herself, “it was so _sudden_ and, and I hadn’t realized how much we’d been ignoring the pink elephant in the room until you brought it up.”

His brows impossibly squashed together even more. “Pink ele- what now?”

She laughed at him, letting his hands drop and patting his chest where his jacket lapels almost disappeared into his matching shirt as they were so similar colors today. “It’s the ironic process theory. I tell you not to think of a pink elephant, what’s the first thing you think of?”

“A pink elephant, obviously.” He replied, there was a pause and then his eyebrows raised in appreciation and acknowledgement. “Oh,” he grinned, “I get it, clever Detective.” His grin then turned salacious. “Think of all the naughty things I could make you think of when we’re-”

She pressed a finger to his lips to cut him off and narrowed her eyes when she felt the wet lick of his tongue in response. “You did not just do that.” She pulled her finger back slowly to not draw any further attention from passing colleagues.

He wagged his eyebrows. “Oh, but I did.” He chuckled. “You want to punish me for my naughty ways, Detective?”

She paused, her skin becoming uncomfortably hot as her mind went unbidden to how they put her handcuffs to good use the other night and- she huffed, scowling at the happy little satisfied smirk on his lips as she stared at her as if he just knew where her thoughts had gone. “You’re unbelievable, stop avoiding the subject.”

He stared at her a second longer before his face fell and he sighed. “Very well.” He gestured at the room. “Now, or do you want to come over later?”

She shook her head, worrying her lip with her teeth. “Can’t, I have Trixie tonight, drop by mine at eight?”

He smiled tenderly, eyes still worried but warm and soft; a look only reserved for her. “Of course.” That look would never fail to make her feel special and she returned it.

Then their moment was broken by a loud yelp and Dan cursing as an intern who was too preoccupied staring at them that they hadn’t noticed where they were going, bumped straight into Dan and spilled their boiling hot coffee all over his shirt. Dan looked over at them, eyes exasperated, and mouth set in a fine line as his arms dropped from their defensive position in the air and hit his sides. He sighed, half rolling his eyes, “ _great_.” This happened a lot, ever since Lucifer and Chloe had gotten together people seemed captivated by them. Either because Lucifer was finally settled down and happy in a one-woman relationship which is something people never thought would happen, or because they looked good together. Chloe liked to think it was the latter – but Dan, poor Dan, always got the short end of the stick. He swore it was because someone up There hated him and Lucifer never denied this, Chloe did but it got her nowhere for obvious reasons.

Lucifer and Chloe chuckled at him, sharing a quick smile before Chloe went to go help her unfortunate ex-husband out, and Lucifer wandered away to find something to entertain himself for the rest of the slow day.

* * *

Lucifer knocked on her front door promptly at eight, a rapid two taps before Chloe called from the kitchen to let himself in. The front door was locked as per usual after Chloe got home from work, but this was no issue for Lucifer and soon enough he was standing in the doorway of her condo, wine in his left-hand dangling by his side as he sent her a welcoming smile.

“Hello, Love.”

Chloe was sure she’d never have enough of Lucifer’s terms of endearment. Sure, she’d heard him say them to others, but when directed at her they were always softer with that lilt of devotion he emanated around her more often than not these days.

She returned the tender smile as she finished wiping the countertop down from her and Trixie’s pizzas. She dropped the cloth in the sink and turned to face him as she dried her hands quickly on her pant leg, smoothly ignoring his not-so-subtle scrunched up disgusted look as she did so. “Hey,” she breathed, quickly closing the distance between them and curling herself into his strong frame.

His arms wrapped around her automatically and she relaxed into his embrace as he returned the greeting. It was funny how in the beginning hugging had been so awkward and unfamiliar for him, but now with her it seemed as easy as breathing and she soaked in the comforting smell of his cologne, tobacco and something – as cheesy as it sounded - that was purely him. She could feel the wine bottle pressing against her lower back as his arms tightened around her, cooler than her thin blouse as its solidness rested against her.

They remained like that for a minute or so before Chloe, as usual, was the first to pull away slightly. Sometimes she wondered if she just remained there with her arms wrapped around him if he’d just stand there for eternity until she let him go. She still had her arms loosely locked around his waist as she looked up, a pleasant squeeze in her stomach as his heated gaze met hers. “Traffic okay?”

He blinked and shrugged his shoulders once dismissively. “Usual. There was an accident on I-405 so I took the back roads, but nothing out of the ordinary.”

It was the domestic talk like this that settled Chloe’s nerves and she nodded, finally letting him go as she reached for the wine bottle in his hand. “This better not cost as much as it looks,” she teased, grinning up at him as she meandered her way through the living room back to the kitchenette for a corkscrew and the fancy wine glasses he’d bought for her last birthday.

He followed her, much more elegantly picking his way through the make-up bits Trixie had left out on the living room floor that Chloe hadn’t gotten around to cleaning up yet. Then again, her daughter was old enough to do it herself now. “Don’t ask and I won’t tell,” his lips curled up in a clandestine smirk; which basically told her it cost way more than her monthly salary, but if she didn’t ask he wouldn’t confirm. She knew better than to ask anyway, especially with his inability to lie.

“You’re incorrigible.” She shook her head fondly as she popped the cork out the bottle.

He chuckled, reaching above her to pluck two wine glasses out the cupboard. “Yet you love me anyway.” He pressed a quick peck to her cheek and stepped away with a flourish, holding out the two glasses.

Chloe blinked at the sudden closeness and subsequent absence of his presence and took the glasses from his outstretched hands automatically. “I do.” She filled his glass and passed it to him, gripping her own between the palms of her hands.

Now they had their wine there was an uneasy silence that settled around them. Chloe could feel it pressing in on her as she looked into his waiting eyes as he hovered uncertainly in front of her. The unspoken weight in the room of why she asked him here tonight. “So…” she breathed, trailing off.

“So,” he mimicked, quirking an eyebrow at her, “do you want to sit or?” He tilted his glass towards the bar stools and then used his other hand to point towards the couch. He was giving her options, letting her take control.

“Yeah.” She debated for a second, eyes scanning him and the room before moving her way to the living room and dropping herself onto the couch. “Come on.” She patted the space next to her and looked at him.

He paused for a second before copying, easing himself opposite her and mirroring her position facing him with his glass propped up on his knee and his hand curled around the stem. There was another pause of hesitant silence before Lucifer broke it. “You wanted to talk about my ring and its immortality?”

He was forthright as always as he stared at her, never being one to beat around the bush when something needed saying and for once Chloe was grateful for his bluntness. She nodded, biting the inside of her lower lip as she searched for a way to approach the sensitive topic. “Yes, but first I wanted to apologize for the other day. I was rude and it wasn’t,” she stopped, searching for the right word, “appropriate.” 

His brows furrowed, “appropriate?”

Chloe tilted her head one way and the other as she considered, before using her spare hand to gesture in the direction of him. “I mean, you had your reasons, but it was just so sudden and it shocked me.” She laughed, weakly. “Frankly, it scared the hell out of me.”

His lips tilted up in amusement at her purposeful choice of words, but a frown quickly took its place. “How did it scare you?”

Chloe laughed shakily; of course he’d ask that. He was an immortal already, the thought of it wasn’t some big revelation to him. “It wasn’t something I’d ever considered. In fact, I didn’t even know that it was an option for us and it just came out of nowhere.” She swallowed past her pride, feeling it halt in her throat as she spoke. “I hurt you with my reaction and I didn’t mean too.” She rested her hand over his free one that was sprawled over the back of the couch, letting the warmth of his hand reassure her. “I’m sorry.”

He tensed, but thankfully left his hand where it was under hers. In the past he would have pulled away. “Nothing to apologize for Detective. As I said earlier, you said no, I understand.” His eyes shone in the low light, and something in Chloe told her he _did_ understand despite the hurt and the suppressed panic he must be feeling about her mortality.

“I know you understand.” She curled her fingers through the back of his and squeezed before meeting his pained eyes. “I do, but I still think we need to talk about it.”

His shoulders were stiff, and the glass clenched tightly in his hand. “What is there to talk about?”

“Well,” she let go of his hand feeling his fragility and knowing he needed his physical space right now. “For one, this.” She gestured at him. “You’re freaking out, and honestly we’ve been ignoring this for so long now that if we continue like this without talking about it, we’ll both go crazy.” She paused, letting him soak in her words. “For different reasons.”

It was his turn to swallow. “What reasons?”

“You’re scared because I’m mortal?” She questioned gently.

He scoffed, “I’m not scared.”

Chloe could feel the unfinished uneasy pause to the end of Lucifer’s sentence. “But?” She prodded. He hesitated, staring at her for a second and Chloe knew he was debating internally with himself to deny everything and high tail it out her home and back to safety where he could suppress any ‘unwanted’ emotions that were threatening to take over. “Lucifer, talk to me.”

The pause lasted a few seconds for before he let out a long breath and his body sagged, and his head dropped to look at the red wine in his glass. “But you can be hurt, Chloe,” he peeked up at her, eyes dark and afflicted, “you can be injured, you could _die_.”

Chloe kept her body posture open despite wanting to fold in on herself and forced herself to keep her voice calm and controlled. “Yes, but that’s always been the case. What’s changed?”

“We’re together now, but I can’t always be here to protect you and what if I’m not here and something happens and-?” He cut himself off, looking away at the wall.

Chloe knew what he was thinking. “It wouldn’t be your fault. It isn’t your job to protect me all the time Lucifer. I’m a homicide detective, remember? Danger is kind of in the job description.” She tried to keep her voice jovially gentle, keeping the tone light enough that it wouldn’t drown her.

He looked at her, jaw clenched. “Yes, but what if something from my life endangers your life and I’m not here. Then it is my fault and I put you in harms way and you wouldn’t be able to protect yourself.”

It was a situation that was possible, and not altogether unlikely now she was in a relationship with Heaven’s perpetual villain despite all he’d done to redeem himself. There was always a chance a sibling or someone could drop by and cause havoc. But- “Michael’s been dealt with and we both know angels aren’t allowed to hurt or kill humans. If something does happen I’m sure we’ll know about it, and we can deal with it then.” She pressed her palm on his cheek, cupping his jaw and gently prying his head back to look at her. “Together.”

He locked eyes with her and Chloe could still feel the turbulence inside his head whirring and keeping him from spilling everything that they needed to talk about. “What else is there?” She coaxed, shifting herself a little closer to him on the couch. “Come on Lucifer, we need to talk about this.”

He blinked, distress flitting across his features and a grieved look settling in his eyes as though he was already in mourning. “You’re human Chloe. You’re going to grow old and die, and you’ll go to Heaven and we both know I can’t go there, and then I’ll never see you again.”

And there it was, the real elephant in the room. The thing that was eating her boyfriend alive from the inside and the thing she’d been so expertly ignoring. She breathed in through her teeth but forced herself to stay where she was, hand still resting on his face. “I know.” She closed her eyes briefly.

“I don’t know how I’ll cope.” He swallowed, and she could see the honest raw pain reflected in his eyes as he stared at her. “I’ve lost so much in my lifetime Chloe, so much, and I survived because that’s what I do.” He smiled weakly. “Albeit I may have rough edges and questionable morals, but I’m still here.” He covered her hand with his own. “But it wasn’t until you that I realized I wasn’t truly living. I drowned myself in sex, drugs and partying. It wasn’t until I found you that I was reminded of what it meant to truly be alive, and if-” he stopped, closing his eyes, “ _when_ I lose you, I’m afraid I’ll lose myself again.”

Chloe went to pull back in shock, the rare and raw emotional revelation hitting somewhere in her gut. Somewhere that wanted to curl up and shrivel with too much responsibility, too much shame and guilt and accountability that had been placed on her shoulders when this man older than time itself wiggled himself into her heart. He held her to him steadfast and she froze in her movements, reminding herself to breathe. “What makes you so sure I’ll go to Heaven?” Her voice was tiny, a weak little whisper voicing the thought that had been slowly gnawing at her for longer than she remembered.

He blinked, a regretful sorrowful smile curling at his lips as he moved to rest his forehead against hers. “You will.” He murmured quietly but firmly, and Chloe knew then that he was unwaveringly sure about that. “I wouldn’t let you go anywhere else.”

Chloe toyed with the idea, as she had in the past, of committing acts that would darken her soul and taint her grief with guilt and pain to influence where she’d go when it was her time. Yet, something about the way Lucifer spoke told her no matter what she did he’d sacrifice himself and his own happiness to make sure she ended up in Heaven, where he thought she belonged no matter what she could do to change that. The selflessness of that action alone, knowing Lucifer would rather be alone and afraid of losing himself than see her in Hell where she could be with him for eternity, had the first few tears slip free of her stinging eyes.

She sniffed, pulling back, and this time he let her. She wiped her eyes and cheeks with the back of her hand and sent him a watery smile. “We’re a mess.”

His gaze lingered on her, sad but accepting as he nodded in agreement. “The reason I asked you about the ring the way I did is because I thought you knew.”

Chloe frowned. “You thought I knew?”

He regarded her carefully, before his eyes flicked over her shoulder and landed on something before locking with hers again. “Trixie knew, I thought she’d have told you.” Now she knew his eyes had been lingering on her daughter’s bedroom door, where the lights were on and tinny music could be heard if you concentrated hard enough.

“Oh,” Chloe shook her head, sniffing again and creating a mental note to ask Trix about that later, “no, she didn’t tell me.”

“I also asked Dan.” He tilted his head as if thinking about her ex as he scrutinized her. “He didn’t say anything either?”

“No.” She felt a little sick but laughed feebly. “Looks like I’ve been kept in the dark. What did you ask Dan?”

“If I could ask you if you’d like to be with me,” he sucked the top of his teeth as he thought, his eyes confused and hesitant but quietly confident, “as an immortal.”

Chloe withheld a cringe, even the word sent tendrils of unsure panic through her. She pushed it down and sat back against the armrest behind her and eyed the ring on his hand warily, knowing that he could have done it without asking her; technically forcing eternal life on her without her permission. He hadn’t, he’d asked, and that alone showed her how much he’d grown as a person since they’d been together. He was acknowledging her and her decisions, and again the selfless decision on his part had her insides clenching in guilt. “I couldn’t watch everyone I know die. Trix-” The thought of watching her daughter age and wither in front of her, powerless to do anything as Trixie faded from her grasp. The thought alone was too much to bear.

Unbidden the thought of how Marcus, who she now knew _was_ Cain, flittered through her head. He had lost himself to years and years of losing everyone he cared about and loved; knowing how that had twisted him into something manipulatively unrecognizable. Deep down she knew it was an entirely different situation, and she had Lucifer, Maze and Amenadiel who’d all be around forever as well with her, but logic wasn’t sitting well with her stomach when she thought about the consequential decision that sat before her.

Lucifer was looking at her strangely sympathetically. “As I said, I understand.” He reached for her and shaken as she was, she went to him willingly. He took her glass from her hand that had miraculously not spilled and placed both of them on the coffee table. She slotted into his frame easily as he maneuvered them so his legs were stretched out on the couch and she rested mostly on top of him, her head on his chest. “I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to, Detective.” He mumbled into her hair, pressing his lips to her head.

She nodded, sniffling and slid her hand that wasn’t tucked under her underneath his jacket and wrapped it around his warm torso in a tight half-hug. “I know,” she said, and she did.

They were silent for a few minutes as they both lost themselves to their thoughts, Chloe sleepily thinking about all the paths and avenues that were closed and open to her, Lucifer, and the both of them together. Her mind flickering to her daughter, Dan, to her mom and then her father in Heaven who was apparently proud of her.

“But-”

He mumbled a confirmation at her voice, and it was only then Chloe realized he was nearly asleep. A rumble passing through his chest and vibrating her cheek as he affirmed he was listening. She smiled softly into his shirt at how relaxed he was around her, how she could do that and how much she loved him. So much at sometimes it didn’t make any sense to the logical part of her brain- perhaps they were just meant to be despite all the celestial interferences in both their lives to get them here to where they were now.

“Lucifer, if I change my mind...” Her voice was a whisper, a secret breath that was stolen away by the soothing blanket of the low light of her living room.

She couldn’t see it, but he cracked open one eye and looked down at her head tucked into his chest, letting himself feel a tiny little fractional glimmer of hope. “The offers always there, Detective.”

She let out a small satisfied sound of acknowledgement before drifting off into sleep, tucked safely into his tightening embrace as he left himself fall after her into the ease and comfort of slumber which always prevailed when he was near the woman he loved.

* * *

It was inevitable really, and the first thought that flashed through Chloe’s head as panic washed through her was _Murphey’s law_. Of course, at some point in her life it was a given that some dirtbag’s criminal family was going to come looking for payback through hurting her family.

In reality she should have been more cautious, but her association to the supernatural; having the actual Devil as her partner at work and in life had made her somewhat lackluster when it came to protecting her family. She may have the highest closing rate in her department, probably on the force, and at work she was on high alert and as prepared as she always had been, but in her home life she’d taken their celestial guardians for granted, figuring they’d always be there when they needed them.

Maze was always there for Trixie, at her side and protecting her daughter like the older sister Chloe knew Trix had always wanted. Chloe knew Lucifer would die to protect her child, he’d told her as much once. For both these reasons, and of course knowing Amenadiel, God’s once right hand and now father to his own child, wasn’t too far away when they needed him, had Chloe accidentally dropping her guard. She’d forgotten about the human threats, the celestial craziness had become so prevalent in her life since she’d discovered the truth that the mortal ones slipped to the wayside and disappeared into her peripheral vision, not completely disregarded but mostly overlooked. A lot like her mortality issue that they’d discussed but not really understood the implications.

Apparently they had a knack for ignoring the morbid truth of mortality that hung over their heads like a baby lamb being lead to slaughter but denying it the whole journey only to be faced with the truth as the blade came down over its head. There was a reason she was a vegetarian.

And the blade was definitely coming down on her neck now… and Trixie’s… and she wasn’t happy with that, not at all.

Chloe swallowed her gasp as she stepped inside her apartment, her senses tingling. She was hyper aware as soon as she inserted her key into the lock; it was too quiet. Trixie should have been home from school by now but there wasn’t a sound coming from inside the house. There was no music, no loud footsteps of her daughter dancing to her new favorite metal band that Maze had introduced her to, no tv blasting through the walls further irritating their already annoyed neighbors; _something was wrong_.

She pushed through the feeling, knowing she didn’t have time to call Lucifer, and Maze was away this week on a bounty over in Texas hunting some brothers who’d been robbing banks; she’d called earlier saying it was taking longer than usual and the brother’s had some girl with them she hadn’t counted for and it was going to be ‘far more entertaining than she previously thought’; her words, not Chloe’s. So Trixie had taken the bus home from school, but she’d text Chloe when she’d gotten home so Chloe wasn’t worried.

Turns out she should have asked for a phone call; she knew that now for the future.

She paused as she closed the door behind her, purposely keeping her head down to as she pushed it closed and took a deep breath as she rested her head against the doorjamb for a brief second. She felt a tad more secure with the weight of her gun at her hip and the knife securely taped to her ankle.

“Mom?”

Her daughters strained voice had Chloe spinning on her heels. She whipped round so fast her jacket fanned out behind her, her gun already pulled and aimed square at the man’s head who had her daughter tied to a chair that had been dragged into the center of the living room.

Chloe took in the scene quickly, eyes moving and calculating their chances if she took a shot. There were three men, the one her gun was aimed at was obviously the ringleader and was stood behind Trixie’s chair, a gun pressed to her daughter’s temple. “Hey babe,” she ignored the men in the room, purposely keeping her voice calm as she scanned Trixie for any injuries, “are you okay?”

Trixie nodded. “I’m okay mom. These idiots sidelined me while I was making a hot chocolate.” Trixie gestured with her chin towards the kitchen where a steaming mug lay abandoned on the counter. Her daughter’s face was composed as she caught her eyes, but Chloe could see the fire behind them. “I caught one in the knee. Think it’s sprained.”

Chloe only then noted one of the men was sitting down, his face a grimace and his hand gripped onto his knee as he glared at her daughter. Chloe let out a quiet sigh of relief under her breath as she relaxed a fraction; Trixie was fine, Trixie wasn’t a little kid anymore and her training with Maze was paying off. She knew how to channel herself in dangerous situations, something which Chloe had pushed for after the Malcolm situation so many years ago and the nightmares that followed. It was clear her daughter was purposely channeling her mentor as she slouched in her chair, gangly legs of a mid-growing teenager spread out before her and way too long hair covering half her face as she blew it away with a puff of air from her lower lip.

Her gun was level, her hands steady, as she moved her attention to the soon-to-be-dead-man stood behind her daughter. “Lower your gun from my daughters head, _now_.” Her voice was dangerously level, quiet and controlled as she thought through all the possible solutions where her daughter would made it out unscraped.

“You really think I’m going to let my only leverage disappear off into the sunset?” The nameless man laughed, his mouth cruel as he sneered at her. “So she can… what? Run to dear ol’ daddy? Or your favor granting club owner partner? We know her little bodyguard is outta town.” He pushed the gun further into Trixie’s temple and Chloe grimaced at the flash of fear in her daughter’s eyes. “We ain’t taking any chances.”

“You’ve been watching us?” Chloe replied, taking a tiny scuffling step closer to the man. “Who are you? Let her go and I promise I’ll help with whatever it is you want.” Chloe appealed, ignoring Trixie’s glare at her as her daughter pieced together what she was doing. She chanced another minute step forwards.

“We’ve been keeping tabs on you for weeks, waiting and gathering information for the right time.” His voice was nasally like he had a heavy cold, and his breathing heavy as he rasped out his words. “We figured tonight was our best shot, there was always a chance your partner would come home with you, but we could have handled that.” He laughed unkindly as he sing-songed, “but lucky for us you’re all alone.”

“Two lil ladies all alone, so defenseless.” The last man, who had remained silent until now, chuckled. He had unwashed blond hair plastered to his forehead and sweat was glistening at his collarbone despite the cooler weather in L.A at the moment. “It’s almost too easy pickings, eh Tony?”

Tony, the injured man in the chair, chortled as he looked Chloe up and down with a sneer. “It’s going to be fun, _for sure_ ,” he purred.

“We’re not defenseless, you scumbags.” Trixie objected, growling through her teeth as she looked between the two men. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

“ _Trixie_.” Chloe shot her daughter a look, _be quiet_ , they were letting things slip as they mocked them.

“Look lady, we promise not to harm your lil one, you’re the one we want. But we need her to keep you under control.” The first one slid a hand into Trixie’s hair and pulled her head back harshly, her daughter winced but remained silent and glared up at the man as he focused his sneer on Chloe. “We promise she’ll remain untouched as long as you cooperate. Now, lower your gun and drop it on the floor.”

Chloe swallowed, hesitating as she stared at her daughter who was shooting painful looking death daggers at her capturer. “You lower your gun first. I understand she has to stay, but I won’t cooperate with anything you want until you _lower your gun_ from my daughter’s head.”

“But she’s so feisty.” He gripped his hand tighter in her hair, fingers pulling harshly at her scalp. Trixie hissed a little in pain but otherwise remained quiet. He smirked, fingers rubbing strands of her daughter’s hair. “How do I know she won’t do something stupid?”

Chloe remained silent, simply levelling the gun to the man’s forehead and solidifying her stance as used the movement to slide forwards another step.

He regarded her and Chloe carefully shielded any emotions as she met his stare stoically. He paused for a few seconds but sighed, lowering his gun to his leg. “Very well, I’ll aquacise.” He chuckled as Chloe didn’t move from her position, simply dropped her gaze to the gun still in his hand. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly like they were all friends having a fun jest, and passed his gun to the unwashed sidekick who had walked nearer. “Like mother like daughter I guess.” He sneered as he relinquished his grip on his gun.

The sweaty blond moved back to his place by the window and ringleader was back behind her daughter, one hand now gently wrapped around her throat to prove to Chloe he still had the most power. He quipped an eyebrow at her, “your turn.”

Chloe hesitated. The man’s grip tightened and Trixie wheezed, and Chloe immediately surrendered dropping her supporting hand on the gun and rotating it in her hand so the trigger guard dangled from her index finger.

“To the ground.” He gestured with his head at her. Nodding slowly, Chloe deliberately and carefully lowered herself into a crouch to place the gun on the floor. She could feel her coat tails dragging against the wooden floor as she moved, her quick-fire brain trying to find a fast solution, but before she could move he cleared his throat and dirty blond moved a step closer to her. She froze in her position. “Nuh uh, kick it over with your foot. There’ll be no happy trigger fingers here.”

Chloe placed her hand flat on the floor and pushed herself upwards carefully making sure to keep her pant leg tucked into her right boot heel as she gracefully straightened and rolled her shoulders back, keeping her palms out but her chin lifted slightly in defiance. She placed her left foot on top of the gun, tip of her boot placed on the edge and gave it a sharp push; it slid across the floor, bumping into the chair leg and skittering a few feet out of reach to their left. “Happy now?” She tilted her head, feeling her hair in its bun loosen.

He looked at the gun and at her, “better.”

“Now what?” Chloe made sure to keep her hands up, shuffling her feet towards and her boots scuffed on the wooden floor. “What do you want from me?”

“ _Well_ ,” he drawled, hand still loosely wrapped around Trixie’s neck, “that’s complicated. You see you and your little partner arrested my cousin last year.” He shoved his free hand into his pocket and tilted his hips toward as he continued. “He was shanked in prison last month… died on the way to the hospital.” He gritted his teeth, spit gathering on his lower lip as he spoke. “Your partner has too much influence, he’s too protected. You on the other hand, living here all alone and unprotected when he isn’t around… you made the arrest and I want you to _pay_.”

Chloe took in that information, churning it in her head for a second. “I understand,” she paused, nodding understandingly as she tried to mollify the man’s rage, “you want revenge for your cousin’s death, but hurting me and my family isn’t going to solve anything.”

He roughly pushed Trixie’s head forwards, so she was staring at her own lap, keeping his hands tangled in her hair. Chloe wanted to wrench him off her, stab him through his sweaty palm with the knife still strapped to her ankle, but logically she knew she couldn’t move fast enough. She’d get herself killed. Or worse, Trixie killed. “Shut up.” He glared. “You don’t get to tell me what’s gonna make me and my family feel better.”

“I know I can’t.” Chloe tried for a reassuring smile but found those were easier to pretend when it wasn’t her daughter’s life on the line. She could feel the quiet panic churning in her gut and pushed it down, swallowed past the fear and continued, "let go of my daughter and we’ll talk, okay?”

He dropped Trixie’s head and straightened up. “We’re going to hurt you. We’re going to make you wish that you had never touched our cousin and,” he sneered, lips peeling back from his teeth, “we’re going to make your little obnoxious daughter watch everything so she knows how we feel when we finally end your perfect little life you have here.”

Dread curled in her stomach and she swallowed thickly, knowing she couldn’t let anything happen to her as Trixie would be left unprotected. She also knew, sadly, when talking down a perp would have no impact. She had no other options here. These men were dangerous, and she was alone. There was no way she could talk them down and her gun was out of action, she needed to get hold of her gun or at least the one the ringleader had. As far as she could tell he was the only one who had been packing. A rookie move on their behalf but one that worked in her favor.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” He jeered; lips tilted cruelly.

“I don’t think she’s gonna be as hard to break as we thought.” Tony taunted, leaning forwards on his seat to leer at her.

Chloe ignored their words but kept a vigilant part of her mind on their actions as she quickly thought through possible plans of action. If she moved directly towards the ringleader, sweaty blond had his gun and could take her out easily. If he moved towards Tony, same thing, and the same result if she moved towards her own gun but that could also end up with the ringleader getting to it first and hurting her or Trixie. Her only option was to target the sweaty blond in the corner who held all the power, despite not knowing it by his casual distracted stance as he gazed out the window and back in the room with lazy contempt.

“You can hurt me all you want, but I need a promise you will not touch her.” Chloe subtly shifted her stance in the direction of the blond by the window. “I will go willingly wherever you want, I will not put up a fight, but you have to let her go.”

“You really think you have any control here, lady?” Ringleader gibed, his face twisting horribly as he laughed.

“Mom?” Trixie sniffed, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m staying with you.”

“Trixie-” Chloe moved automatically to deny her daughter but paused, thinking as a new plan formed in her brain, one which reminded her that although she was terrified for Trixie and didn’t want any harm to come to her; her baby wasn’t defenseless, and she wasn’t a child anymore. She sucked in through her teeth, steeling herself against the maternal urge to protect her daughter from anything that could harm her in the world. “Baby, it’s going to be okay. Do you remember last month when we made pancakes and you asked if Maze could help because hers always turn out burned and disgusting?”

Trixie looked confused but nodded.

“Well, don’t worry because Maze will make you good pancakes from now on, she learned like you did. I promise. It’ll be okay.”

Chloe knew this was a longshot. This was something out of an action gangster movie that she’d watched late one night while falling asleep waiting for Lucifer to close the club and come join her.

Trixie’s face scrunched up further in bewilderment, and Chloe felt her stomach drop.

“Okay, enough with the false promises and lovey-dovey stuff.” He closed in on Trixie, head over her shoulder as he breathed in her daughter’s ear. “It’s sickening. Tony would you-”

He was interrupted with a sudden dawning on Trixie’s face that Chloe recognized, and Chloe had barely two seconds to react as her daughter threw her head back into the ringleader’s jaw behind her and screamed, a loud ear-piercing screech that reverberated in the room. He reeled back in shock and at the same time Chloe flung herself across the room and tackled the blond to the floor; the move was so quick he didn’t have time to register before Chloe elbowed him in the throat and slammed his head into the wall, grabbing the gun from his hand. His body collapsed to the floor when she let go.

She didn’t have long.

She spun and fired into the ringleader’s shoulder before he could move towards Trixie or her. He staggered back and Chloe quickly jogged over to Trixie’s chair, yanking the knife from her ankle and hacked at the rope around her daughter’s wrists before passing her the knife and aiming it at Tony.

She wasn’t fast enough.

He had recovered from the shock, stumbled with his bad knee to her gun and Chloe had a millisecond to register before her gun fired, and the following pain in her right side was excruciating. She cried out and dropped the gun. Trixie screamed but Chloe ignored her daughter, instead flinging her almost dead weight at the ringleader who was still staring at his bloody shoulder – everything had happened so fast.

She hit him full force and they both tumbled to the floor, both weak with increasing blood loss. In the background she briefly registered Trixie untying the last of her bonds. Ringleader pushed at her with his one good arm and Chloe used her legs to remain on top and pinned him to the floor. She rebalanced herself and turned to look at her daughter.

“ _Trixie!”_ Trixie was staring at Tony who was fast approaching Chloe and the ringleader, her gun still in his hand but not firing in fear of shooting his boss. “Trixie, _go_!” She yanked her phone from her back pocket and threw it at her, thankful for her daughter’s trained fast reflexes as she caught it automatically. “NOW!” She screamed at her still daughter, her raised voice knocking Trixie back to her senses. “ _Call Lucifer!”_

A beat. Trixie nodded and with one last look at Chloe, she scrambled for the abandoned gun and ran out the house with the phone already at her ear and ringing as she ran. Chloe briefly heard Lucifer’s smooth voice pick up and Trixie hurriedly interrupt with: “It’s me. We’re in trouble. _Come now_.”

Chloe was quickly distracted by Tony who barreled at her and forcibly knocked her off his boss. Chloe cried out in pain but swallowed past the throbbing at her side and used her weight from lower down to grapple Tony’s legs and knock him to the floor, she pressed her hand to his face to block his vision and wrenched her gun from his hands and before thinking fired twice into his chest. He went limp underneath her, a trail of blood gathering at his lip and slipping sidewards down his pale face.

She pushed herself upwards, registering the groan from the other side of the room as sweaty blond stirred and tried to gather his arms underneath him; he slipped and slumped back to the floor. Chloe didn’t hesitate, she shot twice into his legs and he yelped, body jerking and falling silent again.

Ringleader had used the time she was distracted with his lackies to come around. His teeth were gritted and he pushed himself at her, arms around her waist as he tossed them both to the floor. Chloe grunted, breath rushing out of her as her head hit the floorboards in a sudden whack of pain. She was dizzy with blood loss but managed an elbow at his bad shoulder and he hissed in pain, dropping her and stumbling backwards.

Chloe wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but she felt rather than heard the disturbance in the air and the whoosh that followed. She knew her mind hadn’t invented the hopeful sound when the ringleader froze, confusion and panic battling for dominance in his expression before he bolted left.

She lay there for a second, breathing shallowly into the air now it was calmer; her breath stirred little dust motes that that awoken from the floorboards in her tumble. She watched the specks of fluff, dizziness blurring her vision as the throbbing in her side grew in its viciousness.

Her peace was sliced and obliterated as quickly as it had come with a panicked, “ _Chloe!”_ and the following rushed footsteps as a familiar figure knelt by her side. “You’re bleeding. Chloe, talk to me.” Hands were on her face, her wound, her hair…

She breathed through the pain, gritting her teeth and blinked open bleary eyes she hadn’t realized had closed to pin on her fallen angel by her side. “ _Upstairs.”_ She coughed, wincing and curling into her side as the pain spiked.

He paused in confusion for a second, before recognition filled his features and his expression went dark. Anger and redemption clouding his eyes as he narrowed them and shoved himself abruptly upwards and marched in the direction of the stairs, determination and purpose to his stride. Letting the fury drown out his panic for a second as he stalked his prey.

“Mom!”

A smaller frame was by her side and Chloe hummed in pain. “Trixie.” She grunted. “Not supposed to be here.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Her stubborn daughter replied, hands covering the wound and quickly becoming saturated with slippery blood that was still steadily flowing. “Stay awake, okay?”

Chloe managed a nod, blinking up at her daughter’s worried damp face, fresh tears filling her pretty brown eyes. “So brave.” She breathed, trying for a smile to reassure her.

“You were lucky I remembered what you were talking about with the pancakes, mom.” Chloe knew her daughter was speaking to try keep her awake, she went along with it anyway despite really wanting to sleep. “Now you owe Maze for training me,” Trixie laughed shakily, “she’s never going to let you live it down that she was right.”

Chloe smiled, happy knowing that Trixie could defend herself and that Maze was there to protect her always, even if in spirit and not in person. “You’re good.” Chloe mumbled, haze taking over her mind and her eyes drooping. “Love you babe.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Oh no no no no.” Trixie panicked. “Mom?! Wake up! You can’t sleep! Mom!” Her baby jostled her, shaking her arms and Chloe hissed a little in pain but her tongue felt heavy and cladded with lead; her mind fuzzy.

“What’s happening?” Lucifer bellowed as he quickly approached. “Is she okay?”

“No, I think she’s dying.” Trixie whimpered once, a blip in her throat. “Is that man-?”

Lucifer dismissed her; she could hear it in his tone. “He’s taken care of.”

A breathy sob. “Good…” A sniff. “We need to call an ambulance.”

“I’m faster.” Lucifer replied, already moving to pick her up. His arms circling around her; one under her upper shoulders supporting her neck and the other under her knees. She basked in his warmth for a second, letting herself float away in the comfort of being wrapped in his arms. “Chloe, can you hear me? You need to stay awake.”

Chloe struggled back to the surface, wincing against the sharp pain as she blinked open her eyes. “Hurts.” She flinched as he accidentally jostled her wound. “I-”

He shushed her as he pushed himself to his knees and held her closer to his body. “Don’t talk, just stay awake for me, okay?”

Chloe sleepily nodded, already feeling the fog threatening to overpower her again. Something black glinted in her peripheral and her breath halted in her throat, memories of today striking her with force and how she felt powerless to stop any of it and how her weakness nearly got Trixie killed.

Shakily she used the last reserves of her energy to lift her hand, her wrist weak as it flopped once by her side before obeying and hovering uselessly in the air. Lucifer froze in his motion to stand up as her hand floundered and she let it drop on top of his hand, vaguely hoping somewhere in the daze of her mind that it was the right hand.

“Yes.” She murmured, fingers searching and skimming over the ring on his hand; knowing once it touched cool stone that she had found what she was looking for.

He grimaced, brows furrowing as he followed her fingers and shifted her in his arms. She grunted in pain, brain clouding over as she felt herself succumb to the draw of sleep. He tightened her in his grip as he stood, Trixie looking on in confusion.

He hadn’t replied. Chloe forced her eyes open blearily and stared at him. “ _Lucifer_?”

Sighing, he juggled her carefully as he moved to the doorway of the condo. He looked down at her gently, eyes dark with something she didn’t understand. He cleared his throat and looked up at her questioning expression. “Later.” He replied, tone sad as he rolled his shoulders.

Chloe buried her head into his chest as she felt her stomach drop with the sudden lurch into the air.

She passed out before they reached the hospital.

* * *

A week passed and she was dismissed from the hospital. Lucifer had been there every day as she recovered, annoying the nurses and telling her she must be bored of the hospital walls if he was already. She’d laughed, he had smiled, and they settled into companionable silence more often than not.

Trixie came to see her too. Brave face, eyes full of restrained worry. Chloe reassured her she was fine.

That one niggly thought that she hadn’t done enough wouldn’t leave her alone.

When she was released Dan drove her home from the hospital, Lucifer claiming he had something to do at Lux. He wasn’t around for the next few days, hours between his text responses when she messaged him and not answering when she called.

Chloe understood. She had freaked him out. This is what he did when he was scared; he closed himself off and made himself physically unattainable as he tried to do the same emotionally.

“He’s fine, he’s just being Lucifer,” grunted Maze when Chloe miserably slumped at the counter, wincing at the tender ache in her side. Maze was grouchy at the moment, apparently the bounty with the two brothers and woman had gotten away; a first for Maze and she was relishing partially in the challenge but mostly crabby that she’d – currently – failed. She had retuned early to help Chloe with Trixie, and household chores, while Chloe recovered.

Chloe knew now she was healing nicely that sometime in the near future Maze would vanish; back on the hunt of her new favorite targets. Chloe couldn’t blame her, never before had a bounty almost outwitted her.

Trixie came home shortly after and both Maze and Chloe closed off the Lucifer topic simultaneously, Trixie was still worried, and Chloe didn’t want any further concerns to cloud her daughter’s head.

A few more days and Chloe was feeling okay to drive, and her mind was set on where she was going first. She had her keys in hand, Trixie was at school and Chloe was still on sick leave – for now – and so the only person to possibly stop her was the demon who was standing casually, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised smoothly, as she leaned against the wall next to the front door.

“I’m not stopping you.” Her leer as she regarded Chloe had her bristling a little, a natural reaction to the otherworldly creature crowding her exit.

Chloe shook the feeling off. “Good.” She smiled at her friend, knowing this was her way of showing how much she cared despite not often voicing it. “Have fun hunting the weird trio.” She swapped the keys from her left hand to her right, listening to them jingle as they knocked against each other, and gestured at Maze’s bag left in a heap by the couch.

“You gonna be okay while I’m gone?” She gestured with her chin at Chloe as she looked at her knowingly.

“I’ll be fine.” Chloe reassured. “Go. Catch them before they slip away again.”

Maze’s eyes narrowed and she dropped her arms to her sides. “I dunno, they’re pretty good.” She smirked. “I may have met my match.”

Chloe closed the distance, curling the keys in the palm of her hand as she reached her friend. She placed her free one of Maze’s shoulder and squeezed. “If anyone can catch them, it’s going to be you.”

There was a brief moment of awkwardness before Maze shrugged her hand off. “Yeah yeah.” She waved a hand in dismissal. She pinned Chloe with a look. “Go, Chloe, before you chicken out.”

Chloe blinked, wondering if Maze knew more than she let on but nodded instead of replying, pulling open the front door. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

She was walking towards her car when she thought she heard Maze mutter, “you’ll be seeing a _lot_ more of me than you planned.”

The drive to Lux was uneventful, as was pulling up in the underground parking lot and the walk to the elevator. She knew this routine like the back of her hand now, it was familiar, comfortable; entirely the opposite of what she was going to get herself into.

When the doors pinged open to Lucifer’s penthouse he was nowhere to be seen.

“Lucifer?” She called, her voice echoing in the large space as she stepped in further. “You home?”

There was a moment of silence and then Lucifer appeared, silk pajamas pants low on his hips and torso bare, at the top of his steps to his bedroom. “Chloe? What are you doing here?” He jogged quickly down the steps to approach her, a cigarette dangling between his fingers. “Shouldn’t you be home resting?” He stubbed out the cig in the ashtray on the piano.

“I think I’ve done enough resting for one lifetime.” She raised an eyebrow, walking to meet him halfway into his penthouse. “Plus, you’ve been ignoring my calls and barely replying to my messages.”

He looked away, tongue between teeth. “Yes, well, I thought you needed your space.”

Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes at him exasperatingly. “Lucifer, how long have we been together now?”

He turned his head to look at her again, questions in his eyes as he answered her. “A few years give or take, why?”

“Have I ever asked you for space when I was hurt before?” She asked. There had been plenty of times in the past few years she’d ended up with a bullet in her shoulder, or a knife held at her throat; granted none of them were as close scrapes as the most recent one, apart from that one time when she’d nearly died back in the first days of their partnership. Even then though she hadn’t asked him to leave, despite finding him infuriatingly annoying. She pressed, “have I?”

“No.” Apparently his bare feet were much more interesting than her face because he was intently staring at them.

“So why are you avoiding me?” She placed her fingers under his chin and gently pried his head to look at her. His eyes locked with hers and she almost lost her breath at the depth of emotion that shone back at her. “Lucifer?”

“I wasn’t,” he breathed, gentle air washed over her face, “not really, just I needed to… refocus, before talking to you.”

She took his hand, gently interlacing it with hers and pulled him towards his leather couch. “Is this about me nearly dying or is it something else?” She sat down, tugging on him to join her, he did.

“Partially, partially not.” He replied, still avoiding looking at her directly.

Chloe felt a stir of irritation in her gut and sighed. “Lucifer, stop beating around the bush and tell me because I’m beginning to wonder if you still want to even be with me.” It was a niggling thought in the back of her head, among many others, that maybe her latest brush with death was enough for him and he was pulling away to preserve himself before anything worse happened.

He snapped his head to look at her, brows furrowed, and eyes pained. “ _No_ , it isn’t that at all.” She almost blinked at the sudden fierceness in his tone, sometimes he gave her emotional whiplash, but she was learning to take it in stride. Still, his stern answer reassured her.

“Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to start guessing?”

He cringed, probably, like her, remembering how terrible she was at guessing surprises or anything related to him and their terrible guessing games they sometimes played while drunk. “Do you remember what you asked?”

Chloe nodded, she wasn’t going to flounder around pretending she didn’t. It had taken hew a few days to remember everything that had happened after she had been shot, but it had all filtered back eventually. “Yes, I do. But first what happened to the ringleader?”

“Oh, he’s been sorted.” His half smirk both comforted her and worried her.

“ _Lucifer_.” She half-questioned, half warned.

“He’s in lockup, out of state so I don’t track him down and hurt him for hurting you. Don’t worry, I didn’t injure him beyond repair and he’s probably babbling about devils and monsters as we speak.”

That was a good as an answer as she was going to get, and she replied with a nod and a grimace. Knowing that man would never be the same again, but also finding herself not really caring as he’d threatened Trixie, and no one hurt her daughter and got away with it. “Thank you.” She settled on instead of her normal reprimand.

If he was shocked by her response he didn’t show it, simply blinked and changed tact. “So, you do remember?”

Chloe sighed, resigning herself to having this conversation sooner than she’d have liked but knowing it was going to happen anyway at some point. Ripping the band aid off now rather than later was probably better anyhow. “Yes, how come you didn’t do it?” She asked, voicing her question that had been nagging her from the moment she remembered.

“You were injured and barely conscious.” He raised an eyebrow, pinning her with a look that even now seemed out of place on his face, disbelief, but she understood. “Despite Lilith giving up her immortality, I’m not sure if its reversible with another human being. There’s a lot I don’t know, and honestly until I told Trixie about it I had completely forgotten about its existence.” He smiled a little bitterly. “I don’t know if it’ll even _work_. Let alone heal an already injured human." He paused. "You know my wings have healing powers too?”

She frowned, she had known that but had obviously completely forgotten. “How come you didn’t try heal me?”

He sighed, deeply and regretfully. “Chloe, I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. Most of them I regret, and Linda has helped me realize I can’t _do_ things to people without their permission.”

She pondered that for a second, understanding that they’d actually never really discussed his healing abilities properly before, and if they had she could possibly have been healed there. “So, you’re telling me if we’d discussed your feather healing abilities before I could have avoided my entire hospital stay?” She raised her eyebrows teasingly.

He looked at her in confusion. “Are you telling me I can heal you in the future?”

Chloe shifted uncomfortably on the couch, pulling her legs underneath her. “Hopefully you won’t need too, but-” she bit her lower lip, “can they heal week old injuries?”

His eyes flickered down to her side where the bandage was visible through her t shirt, and then back to hers. “Yes, do you want me to-?”

Chloe was already rolling up her top, grimacing at the ugly bandage. He leaned forwards, tracing the backs of his fingers against the curled-up edges where it was coming loose from her movement. “Are you sure?”

She met his eyes as he looked at her, and nodded, “yes.”

He pressed his lips together before returning her nod and smoothly standing up. She blinked as he rolled his shoulders and there was a sudden breeze which whipped her hair around her head… and then there he stood in all his full angelic form. White wings shimmering in the natural light of his penthouse. She stared at them as she always did, mesmerized, not just by him but the fact that he was _hers_ , that he wanted to be with her. He smiled cautiously at her before turning to pluck a feather from his wings, wincing as he did.

“Does it hurt?” She asked, as she unfolded herself to stand before him, reaching out to graze his feathers and as always feeling humbled that he let her and warm inside at how soft they felt under her fingers.

“About the same as plucking your eyebrows.” He replied, raising his and bringing up his chosen feather between them. “Are you ready?” She nodded, hiking up her top again and turning slightly. “Close your eyes, it’s bright and I don’t want to damage you.” He mumbled as he moved closer. She obeyed and squeezed her eyes shut. He gently peeled off the bandage and she winced as the cold air hit the wound in her side. She felt the tickle of the feather, and the following deep warmth that followed. The light behind her lids was bright so she squeezed them tighter as the heat resonated from her wound outwards through her body, leaving pleasant tingles in its wake.

A few seconds later it faded, and a hand cupped her jaw. “You can open now.”

She did, her blue eyes meeting brown. She glanced down at her now unblemished side and wiggled a little, grinning giddily when there was no pain, “awesome.” She laughed at his awed expression as he looked at her. “What?”

“You’re just, so-” he shook his head and kissed her. She returned it and melted into his embrace as his wings wrapped around them, folding them into a ball of feathers invisible to the outside world, “beautiful.” He finished when they pulled back and looked at each other.

“Says you.” She grinned her reply, raking a hand through his feathers that still encompassed them and relishing in the little shiver that ran through his body. There was a brief pause where the reality of their moment came crashing back around them and Lucifer went to pull back. She held onto his arms. “Stay.” She glanced at the wings fluttering on either side of her. “They can stay too.”

He smiled warily at her, as he always did when she readily accepted the non-human parts about him but nodded. “I’ve been thinking,” she swallowed thickly, “about everything, and I’ve decided my answer is still the same.” He frowned at her in confusion, so she reached down and took his hand between them, the one where his now famous ring sat confidently; she played with his fingers. “My answer is still yes.”

“Yes?” He looked unsure but let her keep his hand between hers. “Detective?”

She looked up from his hand, lifting her chin and setting her shoulders. He was staring at her, eyes concerned and brow wrinkled. “I should have been able to protect Trixie. We forgot about human threats. It’s one thing for me to worry about watching Trixie grow up, and another to watch her get hurt. She could have been-” she swallowed thickly, fighting back the tears as she thought about her daughter and how her job had become all too real that day, “ _killed,_ and I was powerless to stop it.”

“Chloe-” Lucifer’s eyes were soft as he turned his hands and encompassed both of hers in his one larger one.

She sniffed, shaking her head and pushed herself to continue. “It’s worse for me because I _know_ others worry about their kids, but they can’t do anything about it and… and I can. I turned it down in fear of watching those I love get old and die but…” she trailed off, closing her eyes, “Trixie could have died last week, and I could have _stopped_ it sooner than I did.”

“You did what you could, Chloe, and I nearly lost you.” He moved his free hand back to her face, tilting her head to look at him. “I thought I _had_ lost you. You were lying there bleeding out and Trixie was panicking, and my only thought was how I wasn’t ready to lose you.” His eyes were pained, his face distressed as he added. “Neither was Trixie. When you were in surgery she begged me to do it, all snot and tears and definitely not graceful at all. But as much as it hurt to do so I declined, I told her it had to be your decision.”

Chloe sniveled, pulling her hand back and wiping at her eyes. “I suppose I should thank you then.”

He smiled gently. “No thanks needed. I’m always going to try support you, whatever you decide. It’s taken me a long time to understand that your beliefs are just as important, if not more, than mine. I may be terrible at showing it, but I trust you to make the right decision.” He cleared his throat, grimacing. “Even if that means I’ll eventually have to let you go.”

Chloe choked back a sob and smiled feebly, feeling it waver at the edges. “I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I want to be able to protect Trixie and those I love.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “If this is the only way I can be a hundred percent sure I can keep those I love safe, then I want to do it.”

He peered at her, ducking his head to her level as he framed her face with his hands. “Are you sure? I don’t know if it’s reversible and if it isn’t, you’re going to be stuck with me for a _long_ time.” One corner of his lips quirked up in a lopsided smile. “A _really long_ time.”

She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes for a second, before meeting his resolutely. “If I had a choice of who I’d be stuck with for eternity, I’d rather it be you.”

He chuckled, pulling back to bop her on the nose with his finger. “That was cheesy.”

She grinned at him. “Did it work?”

He quirked a brow at her. “In making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside?” He laughed at her wide eyes. “Yes… I love you-”

“-I love you too.” She interrupted. He looked at her in amusement; she smiled bashfully and shrugged. “Sorry.”

“- _and_ ,” he emphasized, “I’ll do anything you want me too, as long as you’re sure.”

Nodding, she locked eyes with him to try convey how serious she was; his eyes met hers with such hope and longing and _love_ that it made her insides clench. “Yes, I’m sure.”

There was a moment of baited silence between them before Chloe shifted as her body cramped, and Lucifer stepped backwards to let her stretch her arms above her head; watching her hungrily as the movement emphasized her breasts in his direction. He cleared his throat and had the sense to look at least a little sheepish when she stared at him knowingly. “Do you want to do this now, or?”

She rolled her shoulders, pushing past the nerves in her stomach and bit the inside of her cheek as she considered. “No time like the present?”

He nodded but dithered for a second, tugging on his ring on his finger and spinning it with his thumb.

“If you want to do it another time then that’s okay.” Chloe smiled, looking at him cautiously as the fiddled in thought.

“No, it’s just-” he shook his head to clear his thoughts and blinked at her, “never mind, maybe you should sit down?”

“Should I?” She raised her eyebrows. “What’s up? Something’s bothering you, if you don’t want to anymore, then I understand and-”

“No, no.” He looked at her seriously and she shut up. Then his look broke into a pout that Chloe wanted to kiss away. “I just,” he grinned awkwardly, “don’t really know what to do.”

 _Oh_. Chloe laughed at his confounded expression. “Well neither do I. Smash it maybe?”

He looked offended at her suggestion, pulling his hand to his chest. “How dare you _,_ this is an antique!”

Chloe tilted her head and stared at the ring still cradled to his chest, shrugging. “Well consider me stumped.”

He glowered in concentration. “Maybe if I just-” He pulled the ring off his finger, cupped it in his hands, and stared at it with a focused absorption Chloe had only seen on him in the bedroom. He squinted his eyes in focus and… then he grinned when a light mist began to rise from the ring into a little cloud. He looked over at her in triumph, only to find her staring at the cloud in apprehension. His thrill faded fast. “Chloe, are you-?”

Chloe locked eyes with him, feeling the nerves churn in her stomach as she swallowed. “Sorry it just looks different to how I imagined.”

“Are you sure?” He questioned, staring between the mini misty cloud and her, and back again, eyes flicking between the two. “I probably can put it back in-”

Shaking her head and steeling herself, Chloe breathed in deeply and pushed away the trepidation. She was sure, in her mind she knew this was the right thing to do but that fear of the unknown was always going to be there. It was human nature. She pushed past it and cleared her throat. “No, I’m ready.”

He hesitated for a second, regarding her closely; his eyes scanning her face, her body, back to her face and searched her eyes for anything that told him otherwise. He took a small step forward and Chloe raised her chin determinedly. He tilted his head, considering for a second, before remembering what Lilith had done all those decades ago and puckered his lips, lightly blowing on the cloud and pushing it in Chloe’s direction.

She stood unflinchingly as the cloud wafted over her face. On the surface of her skin it felt like those refreshing water mists at theme parks on way too hot summer days; or like the cooling calm of sea fret in the morning when she’d visited Santa Barbara in the colder months when she was a child. Internally as she breathed it in, it soothed down her senses and lit up her nerves as it chased away a fog in her mind and a sluggishness in her body that she hadn’t been aware was there.

It settled into her body, her organs and her blood flow easily as if it belonged there. She could feel it thrumming through her body, and when she opened her eyes – again not aware that she’d closed them – everything was startingly clear. She blinked a little, everything coming into focus, colors brighter and edges more defined. She caught Lucifer looking at her concerned, his eyes weren’t just brown they were all these different shades of beautiful chocolate, chestnut and golden flecks she hadn’t been able to see before. “Whoa.” She mumbled, hearing the hum from the refrigerator at the bar where Lucifer stored bottles of booze that needed to be certain temperatures. Everything was so bright and loud and overwhelming.

“Chloe, are you okay?”

Lucifer’s voice snapped her back to the present and she found it was much easier to drown out everything else if she focused; like focusing on the worry on Lucifer’s face as he stepped closer to her. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He looked at her, unsure, and she smiled at him; his hesitant returned smile made hers grow and she grinned truthfully at him. “I feel _great_ actually. Like an energizer bunny, I could run marathon.”

He paused for a second, scanning her face slowly before his expression finally broke into a lecherous grin. “We can test that theory if you like, or…” He trailed off, eyes glinting at her suggestively as he encroached in her personal space, “we could test that newfound stamina in _other ways.”_ He trailed his fingertips up the back of her thighs, skimming over her hips and toyed with her belt loops.

She stared at the little beads of sweat on his chest and met his eyes staring hungrily at her. She laughed, leaning up on her tip toes to kiss her stupid boyfriend, and tasted the salt on his lips as he returned the kiss favorably. She hummed as he licked her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter which she granted quickly. “Okay.” She laughed against his mouth as he pulled her bottom lip between his teeth.

His hands travelled back to her thighs, cupping the underside and urging upwards. She followed, allowing him to lift her and she fit perfectly around his waist, locking her ankles for security as he kissed her ravenously and carried her to the bedroom. As it turned out Chloe was just as happy with her newly discovered stamina as Lucifer was.

Come morning they were both passed out, completely satiated and naked, tangled in Lucifer’s bedsheets. She peeked open an eye to find him smiling happily in his sleep, and felt her own delight in his joy fill her being as she snuggled back into his embrace for the first lazy sunny morning of many _many_ more to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Penny for your thoughts? :)
> 
> Wondering if any of you got the reference to who Maze was hunting? xD


End file.
